10 S&P 500 Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
A small group of stocks reached new highs, with a heavy concentration in the technology space raising questions about valuation.
CrowdStrike (CRWD), with a market value of about $266.4 billion, is the largest company making a new high after gaining 37.7% over the last month. As of Wednesday, September 23, there are 10 S&P 500 stocks trading at their 52-week highs. The S&P 500 itself has returned +0.8% over the last month.
The list is concentrated, with the Information Technology sector accounting for 5 names and Health Care for 4 names. This raises the question of whether the business fundamentals for these technology names support their new price levels.
The Complete 52-Week-High List
Here are all 10 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRWD | $266.41 Bil | 5.0% | 8.8% | 37.7% | 112.9% |
| TMO | $246.83 Bil | 1.0% | 2.6% | 5.9% | 40.6% |
| DE | $191.63 Bil | 0.9% | 6.0% | 9.4% | 53.2% |
| FTNT | $131.03 Bil | 2.6% | 4.1% | 17.6% | 110.3% |
| HPE | $83.21 Bil | 2.1% | 10.2% | 19.2% | 152.2% |
| ILMN | $38.56 Bil | 3.2% | 11.6% | 14.4% | 151.6% |
| BIIB | $33.61 Bil | 1.0% | 5.3% | 4.3% | 61.8% |
| WST | $26.61 Bil | 1.3% | 3.8% | 6.4% | 49.5% |
| FFIV | $25.87 Bil | 0.6% | 7.6% | 20.3% | 38.1% |
| SWKS | $13.75 Bil | 1.7% | 6.8% | 36.8% | 13.8% |
Technology names on the list show very different profiles.
Fortinet (FTNT) trades at 61.8 times trailing earnings, while its revenue grew 18.8% over the last twelve months and its operating margin was 32.4%. In contrast, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) trades at 29.8 times trailing earnings as its revenue grew 26.6% over the last twelve months with an operating margin of 7.8%. CrowdStrike (CRWD) saw its revenue grow 24.3% over the last twelve months, but its operating margin was -2.2%.
A new high is a question, not an answer.
Strength in a stock’s price can persist. But a 52-week high is simply a price, not a final verdict on a company’s value or future. The disciplined next step for an investor is to look past the price and check whether the business itself earns the level it has reached.
A new high tells you what the market already believes. The harder question is which of these runs management itself is underwriting. Our Guidance Momentum screen tracks exactly that: stocks where the company raised its own forward numbers.
One more pattern worth noticing: 5 of the 10 names are Information Technology stocks. When a whole group is making new highs together, a technology ETF like XLK, which holds 3 of these names, is one way to own part of the group’s strength without betting on which single name leads it from here.
Chasing Highs Is A Reflex. Owning Strength Is A System
A 52-week-high list is seductive: everything on it has been going right. But buying a stock because it is at its high is buying a price, and prices revert; what persists is the quality underneath the run.
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio is built to own that quality before and after it makes headlines: roughly 30 businesses selected for consistent cash generation, strong margins, and resilient balance sheets, sized and rebalanced with rules. It has a track record of outpacing a benchmark that combines the S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, and the Russell 2000. Admire the list; own the system.